The Little Things
by misspatchesmom
Summary: Tony and Ziva reflect on the little things that make their relationship special to them. Rated M for a small section in the middle that is flagged. Part of the "You Complete Me" universe.


The Little Things

 _Tony and Ziva reflect on the little things that make their relationship special to them. March 2028. Rated M for a small section in the middle that is flagged._

Ziva wrapped her arms around Tony's neck and pressed her lips to his. His familiar warmth and taste nearly brought tears to her eyes yet again today. The others passing through en route to their boarding areas or to their waiting ground transportation were just part of the background at Dulles.

Tony broke the kiss, forcing himself to head to the boarding for his flight. Twelve days at GLYNCO, for work; the first time he and Ziva would be apart for more than a night since fall of 2016. He could count on one hand the number of nights they had been apart, one for each of the births of their children, and have fingers left over. He wiped a tear from her face, "It's only twelve days, Zi. I'll be back before you know it." He wasn't sure who he was trying to convince, her or himself.

"Ani ohevet otcha." She smiled through her tears.

"Ani ohev otach." He kissed her one final time, squeezed her hand and walked to the security check. Once in line, he turned to wave and to blow a kiss in her direction. The line moved quickly and he was through the checkpoint in about fifteen minutes. He turned to see if she was still watching, but the lines had lengthened and he could not tell if she was there or not. He turned and headed to his concourse and gate.

As the boarding began, Tony picked up his carry-on bag and pulled his boarding pass from his inner jacket pocket. He handed the pass to the attendant and took the stub from her. As he made his way down the ramp, he unzipped the outside pocket on the bag to slip the stub inside. His hand encountered a folded piece of paper. He swapped the stub for the paper, and zipped the pocket. He glanced at the paper as he unfolded it.

Ziva's beautiful handwriting filled the small piece of paper: ' _I am feeling your fingers intertwined with mine._ ' He smiled, and tucked the paper in his pocket, planning to slip it into his wallet after he stowed his bag.

~Ziva~

Ziva pulled into the driveway at home. She gathered the two sports bottles from the cup holders to take inside, and noticed a folded piece of paper under the one Tony had used. She picked up the paper and saw her husband's distinctive scrawl: ' _I already miss the taste of your lips_.' She smiled and tucked the paper into her purse.

Inside, she put the two sports bottles in the sink, and greeted Gibbs and the children in the family room.

"Are you sure you don't want me to stay, Ziver?" Gibbs had offered to stay to help with getting the kids out for school in the morning.

"We are good, Abba. Thank you for offering," she hugged him and walked him to the door. "We will see you tomorrow. Laila tov."

After Gibbs left, she reminded the younger three that it was time to get ready for bed, "LJ, Beth, Rivka, time for bed. Lights go out at 2030. Anthony and Tali, you have another thirty minutes and then bedtime. Make sure you have your book bags packed for the morning, please."

After saying good night to each of the children, Ziva shut off lights and moved to the master bedroom for the night. She quickly shed her clothes and slipped one of Tony's OSU shirts over her head. She completed her bedtime routine and slipped between the covers, figuring she would read for a bit.

Ziva awoke at 0442; her nightstand light still on and the book open at her side. The familiar warmth was missing and her thoughts drifted to their shared early morning time. Today was only the first morning without Tony, how would she make it through until he came home on Friday evening of the next week?

~Tony~

When Tony arrived at Brunswick, GA (BQK), he sent a quick text to Ziva, ' _arrived at BQK; next stop GLYNCO. Love you. You are my best friend. Will be dreaming of you tonight_.' She sent back a message within a few minutes, ' _Love you more. Laila tov._ '

Tony boarded the government shuttle bus for the ride from the airport to the dorms that he and the other participants in the two week conference and training would call home for the next twelve days. At the dorm, each one was checked in, and handed two packets of information. They were reminded that the highly classified nature of the training would not allow any form of electronic communications during the sessions. The only day they would be allowed to make calls or use internet enabled devices would be the following Sunday.

One packet contained a chipped identification card that would be used for the entire twelve days to access meals, laundry and recreation facilities, as well as training areas and the dorm room. A detailed list of when and where each meal would be served for the first week was in the packet. Also in the first packet was a mobile communication device that would be the sole means of contacting others in the training during the exercises. A map of the parts of the complex that they would be using was programmed into the device, as well as a contact list of the participants.

The second packet contained the nondisclosure statement and pledge to secrecy that each needed to sigh in the presence of one of the instructors and return before the chip card would be activated. Tony pulled the papers out of the envelope and quickly skimmed over them. He stepped into line to sign and activate his id. As he was waiting, the thought hit him that this must have been similar to what Ziva had to do every time she trained with the Kidon. His turn came and he signed the document, initialing the other pages as indicated. The instructor took his card, and inserted it into a chip reader. The reader buzzed and he was handed back the card. "Room 117."

Tony picked up his carry-on bag and grabbed the handle of his suitcase. At least he was on the ground floor; he quickly deduced that the more senior participants, who would be team leaders, were all in his section of rooms. He opened his door to a sparsely furnished room: a twin sized bed, a desk, a chair and a three drawer chest. Next to the bed was a small table with a lamp. The bathroom had a shower stall, toilet and small sink. The top drawer of the two for the desk was a secure storage for his cell phone, laptop computer and wallet, none of which he would need during training. He needed the chip card to open the drawer.

He put the suitcase on top of the chest and the carry-on bag on the desk. Out of curiosity, he pulled aside the drape over the lone window in the room. The glass was frosted, but from what he could tell, the only thing to see outside of the window appeared to be some sort of shrubbery.

He glanced at his watch; nearly 2200 already. Since he knew they would be up at 0530, he decided to get ready for bed. He opened the carry-on bag to get his toothbrush and toothpaste. He spotted another folded note, smiling as he read his ninja's handwriting: ' _I will feel your arms around me all night, every night you are away_.'

He put the note into his wallet and picked up his cell phone. He swiped the screen to see the picture of Ziva and then entered his passcode to see the family picture. "Laila tov," he whispered to each of them. "Ani ohev otach, Ziva." He turned off the phone and put it with the laptop, his tablet, and his wallet and closed the secure drawer.

~Ziva~

Monday started off with the usual mayhem in the DiNozzo house: kids getting dressed, grabbing breakfast and making sure book bags had everything needed for the day. All five went on the same bus, so at least getting them to the bus only involved one time deadline. "Have a good day," Ziva hugged each one as she or he walked out door.

LJ was next to last, only Tali behind him, "I love you, Ima." Ziva smiled and hugged LJ a second time.

"Toda, LJ. I love you too."

Ziva shut the front door, and walked to the kitchen to refill her coffee mug and grab a bite to eat. She opened the pantry and noticed a sticky note on her favorite box of cereal. She smiled as she read the note, ' _You taste better than any food, even pizza, lasagna and chocolate. Mmmm_ '

~Tony~

Monday had started at 0530 and run non-stop, with the exception of meals and short breaks, until almost 2200. Tony was exhausted when he arrived back in his room. The other team leaders had the same 'I just want to drop in the bed and sleep' look that he was sure he also had. He brushed his teeth, and powered up his phone to look at the pictures before he fell into the bed. He remembered to set the alarm clock for 0430 to be at the team leaders' meeting at 0530.

~Ziva~

Ziva again awoke at 0440, missing the familiar warmth of Tony by her side. She rolled on her side and pulled Tony's pillow to her, to breathe in his familiar scent. Her hand touched paper as she slid it under his pillow. She reached over and turned on the light, reading the note he had left for her: ' _I will be dreaming of the smell of your hair and of your curls tickling my face as we cuddle_.' She put the note on her nightstand and turned the light off, burying her face in his pillow and breathing his scent.

~Tony~

0430 came around way too soon for Tony's liking. He rolled out of bed, stretching. After a quick shower, he pulled a pair of boxers from his suitcase and a piece of paper fell to the floor. He bent to pick it up, unfolding it as he stood up.

There was a heart drawn on the paper, with a smiley face inside the heart. ' _My heart smiles when I think of you_.' He glanced at the clock; 0450, time when he and Ziva were usually awake at home, but time spent only for them. Eleven days to go; it was going to be a LONG week until Sunday and even longer until the flight home.

~Ziva~

Tuesday and Wednesday were a repeat of Monday morning's usual controlled chaos with five kids getting ready for school. On Wednesday, when Ziva dressed for the day, she had found a note from Tony tucked in her sports bra: ' _My hands will be holding your breasts in my dreams_.' After the women's' self- defense class in the early afternoon, she had found another note tucked into her gym bag: ' _You are my favorite sweaty exercise!_ ' She put both notes with the others in her nightstand drawer.

Thursday was Ziva's usual day to work on site at NCIS, so she left for work right after the kids left for school. When she arrived at her desk, she spotted an envelope with her name on it propped against the computer monitor. She immediately recognized the distinctive scrawl; only Tony! She flipped the envelope over to unseal the flap and noticed the message printed along the seal: ' _For your eyes only; open when you are alone._ ' She smiled and tucked the envelope in her blazer pocket. Knowing Tony, she would most likely find some adult content inside.

Tim came by her desk to say hello and to make sure she had received the envelope. "Thanks, Tim," Ziva smiled at her brother of the heart. They made plans to have lunch together, providing Tim's team did not catch a new case.

She took a stretch break around mid-morning, and slipped into the restroom to open Tony's note in the privacy of a stall. She unfolded the piece of card stock to find two pictures; one of Tony's hand and one full body shot of a naked Tony. On the back of the hand he had written, ' _place this hand where you want to feel me touching you. Close your eyes and savor the sensations_.' She grinned to herself, thinking she would try just that when she woke at 0440 the next morning.

On the back of the picture of his naked self, Tony had written, ' _we are a third of the way there to me coming back home. Here's a little me to entertain you_.' She nearly burst out laughing when she realized that in the picture, Tony's arousal was very noticeable! Only Tony…

~Tony~

On Thursday morning, Tony found a note from Ziva in his socks; ' _I love to listen to your heartbeat_.' He added it to the pile of notes in the secure drawer in the desk. The training and simulation sessions were going well, and his team had exceeded expectations. He had made several suggestions for improvements in one of the response actions to a terrorist threat at a school that were adopted and added to the protocol for the next week's session.

Each day was full of activity, starting at 0500 with a team leaders' strategy session and ending at 2200 after a debriefing with the same group. He was learning as well as leading, and his suggestions and natural leadership had not gone unnoticed by the session leaders. Each night, he just about passed out on the bed, tired to the bone. He did have to admit that he enjoyed the 'rush' of field work, even if it was simulation, but he really didn't miss it on a daily basis. The years of risking everything were long behind him.

On Friday morning, a note from Ziva fell out of his shirt as he pulled it from the suitcase. ' _I cherish the warmth and love I feel when you are snuggled with me_.'

'Oh, Zi, if you only knew how much these arms are missing you,' he thought as he pictured her naked in his arms. A rap on his door snapped him from his daydream.

"I'll be right there!" he called out, knowing it was time for the usual morning briefing for the team leaders. He quickly put the note and his phone in the secure drawer and went to the sitting area for his group of rooms. He was so looking forward to Sunday afternoon; communication time was scheduled for 1200 to 2259.

~Ziva~

Ziva awoke at 0440 again on Friday. She pulled the picture of Tony out of her nightstand drawer and then the picture of his hand. She studied the picture, Tony's arousal in the picture getting her mind thinking of him naked. Oh, how she missed the caresses and touches from his hands. She missed touching him with her hands and feeling his body respond to her touch. 'Oh, Tony; if you only knew how much I long for your touch right now.'

Sunday could not arrive fast enough for Ziva; she was so looking forward to Skype time with Tony. She pulled Tony's pillow to her and inhaled his familiar scent.

Saturday was a busy day with the usual weekend chores of laundry and cleaning. The five DiNozzo children were good about helping with the weekend chores, so Ziva had plenty of helpers. In the laundry room, Ziva had found another note from Tony in the box of dryer sheets: ' _It may not be static cling, but I love to cling to you_.' She smiled and put the note in her pocket, to add to the ones in her nightstand drawer later.

Ziva found another note when she stripped the bed to wash the sheets. It fell out from under the fitted sheet near the foot of the bed. ' _My feet, your feet, tangled together in the early morning…_ '

On Saturday evening, Ziva and the five kids went to the weekly family dinner at the Palmers' house. Breena had decided on a Mexican themed dinner, so Ziva brought chicken enchiladas. Her five would eat tacos, enchiladas and burritos any time, unless the other choice was pizza. Breena had arranged the food so that each one could make their own tacos and burritos. Delilah and Tim brought ice cream for dessert. Ziva enjoyed the time with family, but she also missed having Tony there.

~Sunday~

Tony had set his alarm for 0730 in Sunday but he woke up at 0445. When he couldn't go back to sleep, he decided to take advantage of the others sleeping in and get his laundry done. He washed and dried his two loads of laundry before he saw any of the others from the group of team leaders. Some of them were heading to breakfast and invited him to join them. He took his folded clothes back to his room and then headed to the dining hall. The talk among the others was mostly about the upcoming communication time starting at 1200. Tony looked at his watch; only 0830. It was going to be a long morning.

Ziva had slept in on Sunday, waking at 0700 instead of 0445 as usual. She decided to make pancakes for breakfast and got the ingredients out for when the kids started waking. LJ and Anthony came into the kitchen, where Ziva was reading the Sunday paper and sipping her tea, around 0730. Ziva asked each of them how many pancakes they wanted. LJ asked for six and Anthony asked for eight! As she started mixing the ingredients, Tali and Beth wandered in, still yawning. Rivka came in the kitchen as Ziva started putting pancakes on plates. Twenty two pancakes later, Ziva finally put some on her own plate and sat down to eat.

Ziva and Anthony cleaned up the kitchen and loaded the dishwasher, while Tali and LJ finished putting away the last load of towels from the laundry. Rivka and Beth had the trash collection chore this week, so they emptied trash cans from each bathroom, the offices and bedrooms into large trash bags. After dinner, the kitchen trash would be emptied and the garbage can taken to the curb for pick up on Monday morning.

Ziva glanced at the clock when the chores were finished; 1040. Just a little over an hour to being able to talk to Tony and see him via Skype. Each of the children would have time to visit with their Abba as well. Ziva took her laptop to the dining room table in preparation for the Skype call.

At GLYNCO, Tony tried not to watch the clock. He had read through the training materials for the upcoming week, put all of his clean clothes away and played a few games on his tablet. He had charged his phone, and spent time scrolling through the pictures of Ziva and the kids. He missed them all, but especially his ninja.

At 1201, Tony sent a text message to Ziva: ' _Ready when you are for a Skype call._ ' He didn't expect an almost instant reply: ' _Ready now!_ ' Tony opened the Skype app on his laptop and dialed Ziva. Within two rings, she had answered the call.

"Oh, Zi, it's so good to see you," Tony greeted his wife. "We're more than half way through!"

Ziva smiled, "I have missed you all week, Tony. It is good to see you as well."

The pair spent a few minutes looking at each other, not wanting to break the virtual eye contact. Tony grinned at Ziva, and she smiled back at him. "I love your goofy grin."

Ziva called out to LJ, who would be the first one to talk to his Abba. "Fifteen minutes to talk to Abba, LJ and then it is Beth's turn."

"Okay, Ima. Hi, Abba. Are you having fun?" LJ grinned at his Abba. "I painted another picture with Grandpa. It's still at his house, but I can show it to you when you come home."

"Sounds great, buddy. How's school? Did you get the A on the spelling test that you were trying to get?"

"I got a 100, Abba. AND, I spelled the two bonus words correctly, too." LJ was proud of his accomplishment. Spelling had been a tough subject for him at the beginning of the school year and he and his Abba had worked on improving his spelling together.

"Way to go, gimme a virtual five!" Tony held up his hand to the camera and LJ did the same. LJ's grin matched his Abba's.

"Abba, I also did what you said about taking care of Ima. I give her a hug and tell her I love her every morning before we leave for school." LJ took his 'responsibility' very seriously. Ziva smiled as she heard that part of the conversation. LJ was every bit his father's son when it came to caring about those he loved.

"Good man! I love you, LJ and I'll see you on Friday. I miss you, bud." Tony signed ' _I love you'_ to LJ, who signed back.

"Love you too Abba." LJ moved away from the computer as Beth moved into the seat for her turn.

"Hi, Abba." Beth smiled at her father.

Tony grinned, "How's my nimble ninja?"

"Good, Abba. We learned a new routine in gymnastics this week. Only Rivka and I got it right the first time. I can show you when you come home."

"I'll look forward to that, Beth. How did you do with the book report?"

"I finally got it done, Abba. I got an A- because I forgot to use my punctuation." Tony knew that Beth didn't like to write, especially book reports and original stories. He and Ziva had helped her with some ideas to make it a more tolerable task, and she seemed to be doing better with writing.

"You rock, kiddo! Gimme a virtual five!" Tony held his hand up as did Beth. She grinned at him.

"Love you, Abba."

"Love you more, Beth." The two chatted a bit more and Beth's fifteen minutes was up.

"Bye, Abba. Come home soon!" Beth got up and let Rivka have the chair.

"Abba, I did it! I got a 90 on my arithmetic test! Ima and I worked on it all week, and I got an A," Rivka was so excited to tell Abba her news, she didn't even greet him first. "Ima put the test on the fridge, too."

"Alright, Rivka! I'm so proud of you. What else did you do this week?"

"We learned a new routine in gymnastics and Beth and I were the only two to get it right the first time. We'll show you when you come home. Oh, and I remembered to do all of my chores without having to be reminded. Ima let me have a candy bar." Rivka had a tendency to ignore her chores unless reminded several times. Tony and Ziva had been working on finding a system that worked for her to remember.

Father and daughter talked until Rivka's fifteen minutes ran out. "Love you to the moon and back, my number two ninja!"

Rivka signed back to her Abba, ' _I love you_.'

Anthony moved to the computer for his turn. Ziva had been sitting off to the side, and she sent a text message to Tony, ' _I love how you interact with the kids; you are such a fantastic Abba_!' Tony watched as Anthony took a seat and glanced at his phone when he heard the incoming message signal. He read the message from Ziva quickly and greeted Anthony. "Hey, kiddo!"

"Hi, Abba. Did you get to play basketball there? I scored ten points at our game on Wednesday." Anthony played intramural basketball with other fifth grade students after school on Wednesdays. He had his Abba's love for the game and was becoming a good player with his Abba helping him practice.

"Cool! How did you do with the shots we practiced?"

"I made three of four at practice and two of three at the game. Thanks for helping me practice the layups, Abba." Anthony grinned at his father. "Oh, two of my pictures are going to be in the school paper this time. I also have one picture that is going to be on the school web news."

"You rock it, Anthony! Gimme a virtual five!" Tony held up his hand as did Anthony. Both grinned, almost the mirror image of the other. Father and son chatted about the college teams they followed, especially Ohio State, for the rest of Anthony's time.

"My time's up, Abba. I'll see you on Friday. Love you."

"Love you more, Anthony!" Tony waved to his son, and gave him a thumbs up.

Tali sat down for her turn, "Hi, Abba."

"Hey, Tals. How's it going?" Tony grinned at his oldest, and she grinned back.

"It's going. Ima and I filled out the forms for my classes next year. All of my teachers recommended me for honors classes for ninth grade. I'm taking honors geometry, honors geography, honors biology, honors English, and honors Spanish 2. I'm also taking PE and French 1."

"Wow, better you than me, kiddo. You got your Ima's smarts, that's for sure!" Tony was proud of Tali's academic accomplishments. "So how's the new piece coming along with the piano lessons?"

"I'm working on it, Abba. Ms. Pearsall says that I can do it, and she wants me to enter the next level at competition. She says I need to push myself." Tali loved playing the piano, and she would often play duets with her Abba or her Ima. A few times, Tali and Ziva had played the piano, while Tony played his guitar.

Father and daughter talked about several movies, and then Tali's time was up. "Bye, Abba. Love you bunches, Abba."

"Love you to the moon and back, Tali. See you on Friday." Tony signed ' _I love you_.'

Ziva moved in front of the computer, smiling at Tony, "I guess they all miss you. Thanks for taking the time to talk to each one."

"I miss them, Zi, but I miss you the most. I wake up at 0430 and you're not there to cuddle." Tony made a frowning face at Ziva and she laughed. "I really miss having you next to me at night. I think the only reason I am sleeping is that we are just about wiped when we end for the day."

"I miss you, too, Tony, I have been waking up around 0440, and missing the warmth from you cuddling with me. Your pillow has had lots of hugs, and it smells like you." Ziva smiled at Tony again.

"Hey, at least you have that! I only have a picture on my phone and this twin sized bed." Tony held up his phone. "So, what do you have planned for the rest of the day?"

"Not a lot; just getting some things done here, and maybe we will go out for dinner. I have a large transcript to translate this week, so I may get started on that this afternoon. What do you have planned?" Ziva wished that they could stay on the Skype call all afternoon.

"Not a lot; I'll probably watch the game later. Hey, after the kids are in bed, take the laptop into our room and text me. We can get on a call again tonight before I am on communication black out again."

"I like that plan, Tony! It will probably be around 2200, if that is okay for you." Ziva was now looking forward to time alone with Tony tonight.

"That works. I'll talk to you in a while, then, Zi. Ani ohev otach." Tony blew a kiss to Ziva.

"Ani ohevet otcha, Tony. I will talk to you tonight." Ziva signed ' _I love you_.' The couple looked at each other, neither one wanting to end the call. They finally hung up with the promise of the late night call ahead.

~Sunday night~

Ziva and the children went out for pizza for dinner, since Gibbs was babysitting for Clayton and Ellie so the couple could celebrate his birthday. Savannah was nineteen months and Jason was just three months old. Ellie had told Ziva this was their first night out alone since the kids had been born.

The DiNozzo kids were all in bed by 2100. Ziva had the house shut down for the night and was in her room by 2130. She set up the laptop on her nightstand and sent a text to Tony; ' _Ready for Skype_.'

Tony replied back within a few minutes; ' _Give me five minutes to get on the computer. See you very soon!_ '

While she was waiting, Ziva changed into one of Tony's OSU t shirts; she had just finished taking off her panties when the incoming call rang through on Skype. She answered the call to see Tony sitting in his boxers.

"Well, hello there handsome! I like what I see." Ziva greeted her lover. "See anything you like?"

Tony looked at Ziva in his OSU shirt, "Stand up and show me what you have on UNDER my shirt." Ziva stood up and turned sideways, and lifted up the hem of the shirt above her hip. "Or is it what you DON'T have on? Ooh, I like what I see so far…" Tony moved his face closer to the camera and pretended to pant.

"Down, tiger," Ziva joked. "You are all hot and bothered already."

"Down? I don't think so." Tony stood up and dropped his boxers. Ziva immediately liked what she saw. "See what you do to me, woman?"

"I want that!" Ziva could feel her own arousal at the sight of Tony's erection.

 ******M RATED SECTION****** "Look in the bottom drawer of my nightstand. There's a red fabric bag." Tony watched Ziva lean across his side of the bed, giving him his own private peep show. She opened the drawer and pulled out the bag. Attached to it was a note, in Tony's distinctive scrawl: ' _A bit of me for you while I'm away_.' She turned around so she could see Tony as she opened the bag. He was grinning from ear to ear.

She opened the drawstring on the bag and looked inside, "OH!" There was a flesh-colored dong in the bag, and Ziva pulled it out. Also in the bag was a bottle of liquid lubricant.

"Clone-A-Willy kit, so it really is me," Tony explained to Ziva's surprise. She grinned at him and stroked the toy as she would stroke him. "Oh, Zi, that is so hot!"

"Skype sex?" Ziva snickered at the new take on one of their oldest jokes between them. "I like this idea…" She put the toy down and pulled the shirt over her head.

"Oh, god, Zi… yes!" Tony liked where this was going. As she picked up the toy and rubbed it on herself, he stood up and showed her his erection again. As he stroked himself, she slowly pressed the dong into her core. She moaned with pleasure and Tony had to slow his stroking. This was hotter than he had even imagined. Ziva moved closer to the camera on the computer so that Tony could see the toy moving in and out of her core. She propped her head up on her pillow so that she could watch Tony on the screen.

She started moving the toy faster, and could feel her release building. Tony was stroking himself faster and as she climaxed and moaned loudly, he let loose. "Oh, Zi; oh…"

He sat down and wiped up with the wash rag he had brought from the bathroom. Ziva was still breathing heavily, and he could see her flushed face. "Tony, thank you. I think you have outdone yourself with this little gift." Ziva smirked at him.

"That was so hot, Ziva. I'm still coming down." Tony knew he would sleep well tonight. ******END OF M RATED SECTION****** "I hate to have to say goodnight, but we both have to get up in the morning, and I am about thirty minutes from COMM black out again. Ani ohev otach, Ziva. Laila tov."

"Ani ohevet otcha, Tony. Laila tov and sleep well, my love." Ziva signed ' _I love you_.' Tony signed back and blew a kiss. They ended the call after looking into each other's eyes for five minutes without saying a word.

Tony cleaned up and put his laptop, tablet, wallet, and phone in the secure drawer. He took a quick shower and hit the pillow. He knew he would be dreaming of Ziva.

Ziva also cleaned up and shut the laptop down. She showered and cleaned the toy, putting it back into the red fabric bag and then into the bottom drawer of her nightstand. She would be dreaming of Tony tonight for sure.

~Tony~

0430 came around faster than Tony wanted. He rolled out of the bed, and took a quick shower to wake up. He dressed and went to the team leaders' meeting to begin week two of the training and simulation exercises. Five more days and he would be home.

~Ziva~

Ziva woke with her alarm at 0600. She put on her sweatpants and Tony's OSU shirt to start the day. She heard the alarms in the kids' rooms and the family starting their morning routines. Five more days; she would make it to Friday night.

As the children came to the kitchen to get breakfast, Ziva packed lunches for all five. Anthony reminded his Ima that he had a meeting for the school newspaper after school. "Okay, I will pick you up on the way to get Rivka and Beth from gymnastics. Grandpa will be here with Tali and LJ, so they will make dinner tonight. Did you remember to swap chores with LJ?"

"Oops, Ima. I'll go do that now! Thanks." Anthony went to find his brother so that LJ would set the table tonight and Anthony would load the dishwasher.

Once the children were out the door, Ziva set up her work area in her office. She had started on the transcript translation on Sunday afternoon, and it was looking to be a time-consuming project. The quality of the recording from which she would be working was not the best, and the suspect had mumbled a lot, making it hard to hear exactly what he said in many parts of the four hour interview.

As Ziva took her headphones out of her desk cabinet, she spotted another note from Tony. She pulled it out and unfolded the paper, ' _Sometimes at night, I listen to the sound of your breathing and it helps me sleep. It's very comforting to me_.' A smile filled her face and she started her work with a smile in her heart as well.

~Tony~

Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday seemed to all roll together. The routine was the same pattern established in the previous week. Each night at around 2200, after looking at the pictures on his phone, Tony just about fell into the bed and passed out. Memories of Sunday night filled his mind in the early morning hours, and more than once he used the shower to relieve his arousal.

The training instructors met with each team leader on Thursday afternoon to assess and evaluate the teams. Tony's team had excelled in every area. One of the instructors asked Tony if he would be interested in relocating to GLYNCO from Cheltenham to run similar training events.

"If I were ten years younger, and still single, I'd jump at the opportunity. My life is in DC with my family; they are and will always be my number one priority. Thank you, though, for the offer." Tony was honest with the group.

~Ziva~

Ziva finally finished the transcript on Wednesday morning and headed out to her self-defense class. She found another note from Tony in her gym bag, wondering how she had missed it the previous week. ' _You can get physical with me any time, especially with no clothes on!_ '

On Thursday, when she headed to NCIS to work on site, there was another envelope on her desk. On the front, Tony had written her name in Hebrew: _זיוה_ . She smiled as she saw the heart over the sealed flap. Inside the heart, Tony had written in Hebrew: אני אוהב אותך and then the transliteration, ani ohev otach. She smiled, knowing that his Hebrew writing was still a work in progress, but he had managed to form all of the letters correctly. She opened the flap to see a card inside. She peeked before pulling it out at her desk just in case there was adult content.

The card had a picture of the family printed on the front. Inside, Tony had written in his distinctive scrawl, ' _two more days and I will be back in your arms. I know you are enjoying your little piece of me!'_ She smiled at the memory of Sunday night. Her new toy had helped her through missing Tony in the early morning hours on more than one day that week.

She put the card in her purse and started her work for the day. Tim came by on his way to autopsy to get an update on the latest bodies in his team's current case. He would be busy all day, so they wouldn't be able to get lunch this week. "We'll see you and the family on Saturday at our house for the weekly family dinner, though. Gotta run." Tim was off to see Jimmy.

The day seemed to fly past and Ziva got home about the same time as the four younger kids got off the bus. Tali had a piano lesson after school, so Ziva would pick her up later in the afternoon. She was glad that she had Friday off this week. Tony's flight was due in to Dulles at 1945 on Friday evening.

~Friday~

Debriefing for all team leaders and for all participants in the training was on Friday morning. Tony had packed his bag before heading to the first debriefing, only needing to get the items out of the secure storage drawer when he was ready to check out. After the debriefings, the group headed to lunch for their final meal before heading home. Tony exchanged business cards with several others over lunch.

Back at the dorm, he packed his laptop and tablet in his carryon bag and slipped his cell phone in his jacket pocket. He put his wallet in the inside chest pocket and grabbed the handle of his suitcase. Time to check out, and then get on the shuttle bus to the airport. His flight from Brunswick to Atlanta was scheduled to depart at 1505. He would have a ninety minute layover in Atlanta and then be on his way to Dulles.

Once Tony had checked in at the airport and passed through security, he turned his phone on. At the gate, he sent a text to Ziva, ' _At BQK, flight leaves for ATL at 1505._ ' Ziva replied about two minutes later, ' _I will be counting the minutes_.'

The flight to Atlanta arrived early, and Tony headed to the gate for the flight to IAD for his layover wait. He sent another text to Ziva, ' _in ATL; flight to IAD at 1745; should be there about 1935_.' He went to find something to eat on the concourse and people watch. He ordered a burger and soda at a fast food place, and sat at one of the tables near the walkway.

He had just finished his burger, and was watching a family with two small children as they headed to their gate. The family reminded him of returning from Paris with Ziva, Tali, and Anthony ten and one half years ago. He had left DC with a toddler, having newly learned he was a dad, a single dad at that, and returned a family man with a wife and two children.

Tony picked up his phone and typed a text to Ziva, ' _you are the best thing that has ever happened to me_.' He smiled as he sent the message. Then he typed a second message, ' _saw a young family in ATL and it sent me back to our return to DC. All of our memories together just make our connection stronger, even the sad memories. I love you so much._ '

Ziva had been eating dinner with the kids when Tony's messages came in. Their table rule was no devices at the table unless there was an emergency. Tony didn't expect a reply since the time was near the family dinner time. After dinner was finished, Ziva read the messages. She wiped tears from her eyes, and typed a reply, ' _I would not change a thing because those memories are what make us who we are_.'

Tony read the message from Ziva and wiped a tear from his eye. He dialed her number.

"Hello, Tony," Ziva smiled into her greeting. "Miss me?"

"Hey. More than you know." Tony could hear the smile in Ziva's voice. "I couldn't wait to hear your voice and I had to call."

"I am glad you called. I have missed the sound of your voice as well. Now all I need is your touch."

"Soon, sweetcheeks, very soon."

"I know." Ziva sighed. "Ani ohev otcha."

"Ani ohevet otach, Zi. See you soon." Tony disconnected the call and headed to the gate for his flight. He figured the boarding would begin shortly. One last flight and he would be home; home with his family. Home with his children. HOME with his wife, his soulmate.

As Tony was in the air to IAD, Ziva prepared to head to the airport to pick him up. She had originally planned to leave the kids at home, but all five insisted that they wanted to go with her. Tali explained, "We all agreed that we want to surprise Abba. Please, may we go, Ima?"

Ziva got her keys and her phone and the family headed to the airport in the minivan. Ziva pulled in to the cell phone waiting lot ten minutes before the scheduled arrival time for the flight. She pulled up a flight tracker app and saw that Tony's flight had just landed and was coming to the gate. Tony would send her a text when he had his bag and was ready to be picked up.

While they waited, the kids played games on their tablets. About twenty minutes after Ziva had checked that the plane was at the gate, her phone signaled an incoming message, ' _ready to go home_.' Ziva pulled the van to the baggage claim doors, spotting Tony standing near the curb. She pulled up next to him and opened the rear hatch. Tony put his suitcase in the rear, and greeted the kids, who were grinning just like their Abba.

He climbed into the front passenger seat and kissed Ziva. "More at home," he whispered. Ziva shifted the van into drive and the family headed home. Tony chatted with the children, who all filled him in on their week since they had last talked to him. He promised all five hugs when they got home. Ziva smiled and held Tony's hand while she drove. Several times, Tony pulled their joined hands to his lips and kissed the back of her hand, squeezing it lightly when he rested them back on the center console.

At home, Ziva reminded the kids that it was almost 2100 and time for all of them to get ready for bed after they got their Abba hugs. Tony hugged each one and then pulled them into a family hug, placing a light kiss on each one's forehead. "Ok, time to get ready for bed. Ima and I will come say goodnight in twenty minutes."

There were some groans but the kids all headed to their rooms as Tony put his suitcase in the master bedroom. He pulled Ziva to him and fused his lips on hers as she wrapped her arms around him. "Oh, Zi, I have missed you so much. Let's go get the kids settled and then we have twelve days to make up."

"I like the sound of that," Ziva purred into a kiss. "And the thought of a lot less clothes very soon."

"You'll get another sight of what you do to me, woman. Be careful what you wish for." Tony whispered in her ear. "Your wish is my command."

"ROWR!" Ziva pressed herself to Tony, and then took his hand in hers. "Let us go say goodnight to the kids so we can get back in here!"


End file.
